The Australian Services Union says the plans are in direct breach of an enterprise bargaining agreement, which states staff whose work could be outsourced must be given enough information to build a business case to bid for the work themselves.

The council has confirmed it plans to outsource IT jobs in three work areas - help desk, project services and administration - but a spokesman for Lord Mayor Graham Quirk said a final decision on exactly where the jobs would be outsourced had not been made.

However ASU assistant secretary Jennifer Thomas said the council's staff was horrified to learn in yesterday's report that plans could be announced within weeks.

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Ms Thomas said the council had only once before raised the idea of outsourcing jobs, to a firm called QPG, which was part-owned by the Local Government Association and founded by former Labor lord mayor Jim Soorley.

In 2008, Mr Soorley wanted the 156 local councils in Queensland to think of alternatives to having their own rates section, IT sections and their own payroll sections.

Ms Thomas said the council's current proposal had her fearing the worst, because the United Kingdom structure of QPG was recently sold to India.

"It really has been a bit of a fizzer," she said.

Ms Thomas said the council's IT staff were now confused and demanding information.

"In their minds they have not been provided with a business case yet," she said.

"...There was really only some rumours about it going to some international competitors before Christmas.

"So now, the immediate view on that from staff was that they could never compete with those type of prices and they all want to keep their jobs."

Ms Thomas said, after lodging the formal complaint, the union would begin meeting with its members before deciding how to help them bid for their own jobs.

"If they have to compete with international rates with the work going overseas then that brings a new dimension into what we will have to do," she said.

The council's Finance and Administration chairman Julian Simmonds said staff and unions had been fully consulted about the plan.

Council opposition leader Milton Dick questioned why the council was considering outsourcing IT jobs to overseas firms "when there are hundreds of trained IT professionals within Brisbane who are more than capable of doing the job."

11 comments

WHY50 ITjobs to go offshore how do they then fix the problems where the IT person can now walk up to the machine and fix it can they now clear a print jam over the phone or plug a cable back in for that matterWhat are the savings they will be lost in hours on the phone trying to get things done and more critical information about everyone in the BCC area will be available to overseas people who would sell it at the drop of a hat

Commenter

max

Location

qld

Date and time

January 08, 2013, 3:15AM

Not hundreds, after all the sackings, there will be thousands.

Commenter

wdawes

Date and time

January 08, 2013, 3:33AM

Hey, IT dudes and Big Bang Theorists, there are heaps of jobs on the internet, go and get one. Get off your games consoles. The internet is not just for porno, growing drugs and bomb making.This is great economics, we should take advantage of our overseas partners and get the best price for the services provided. After all what s it they provide that cannot be provided in a least cost alternative environment?Get your business cases together.

Commenter

Outsource the world

Location

Brisbane

Date and time

January 08, 2013, 4:31AM

Yes we know the internet is also good for trolling.

Obviously you're not in an occupation that is threatened with outsourcing - yet It's not only IT jobs that have the potential to be offshored. And don't forget, every job that is offshored means less income tax going to the government - which impacts on all of us.

Commenter

george

Date and time

January 08, 2013, 9:01AM

Most of these position were already outsourced with expensive labor hiring companies filling these positions

The problem is the IT managers are being lazy and not wanting to recruit for full-time positions. Therefore you end up with paying almost double in labour cost to place the position with a labour hire company

Commenter

Adam.

Date and time

January 08, 2013, 4:57AM

Out sourcing needs to be made illegal asap. Are these people merely commodities, because that is how BCC are treating them.

Commenter

Benda

Date and time

January 08, 2013, 5:09AM

Oh how naive I was to think that one of the roles of government is to look out for the best interests of the constituents. So, so, so naive. Putting constituents out of jobs and giving those jobs to workers who provide no input back into the Australian economy other than to 'save it a few million bucks' is the most short sighted type of management of them all. I'm not a union member, but I support them wholeheartedly in their objection.

Commenter

Jane

Location

Brisbane

Date and time

January 08, 2013, 5:18AM

It is a concern that even public servants are losing the plot. Is the city council going to follow the corporations like sheep and stop employing their own citizens/ratepayers? As a rate payer I would prefer to see my rates fund the employment of fellow rate payers, not sent overseas. Employing Australians means the money stays in Australia -- to pay for mortgages, utilities, services, food, most important of all, fund the employment of other Australians for generations to come. As jobs go overseas, over time there will less employed people to buy your goods and services, anyway. Stop looking for the easy/cheap way out for short-term gains at the expense of the community and country. This country needs leaders with vision, in government as well as business.

Commenter

jobs4aussies

Location

brisbane

Date and time

January 08, 2013, 5:20AM

In that case councillors and ratepayers of Brisbane should also demand that all council management be outsourced to a cheap offshore consultancy.

Commenter

Myleton

Location

Out

Date and time

January 08, 2013, 9:46AM

There are a number of issues. The real costs and benefits of outsourcing are hardly ever analysed properly and consequently the issues (costs) of contract lock in, poor work, continual rework, poor communication, lack of co-ordination are largely ignored. Outsourcing government jobs is not a sensible strategy. Public money that would be recirculated in the local community via local employees and companies is not and so this will then depress economic activity. This is not hype as numerous economic studies have shown this to be the case. A better strategy would be to make what is there work more efficiently. Why does BCC needs its own IT? Why not have a whole of QLD public sector approach to ICT delivery. The issue is government structure, silo's, budgets and egos.

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